Oscar Pistorius: Hilton Botha quits police

Hilton Botha, the South African detective ridiculed for his slipshod handling
of the initial investigation into the killing of Olympic track star Oscar
Pistorius' girlfriend has resigned from the police.

Warrant Officer Botha, a detective with 24 years experience, was the first officer on the scene after the Valentine's Day shooting of law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp.

However, he was pulled off the case after it emerged he was being investigated for seven counts of attempted murder. He was also criticised for mixing up key facts about the investigation at Pistorius's bail hearing.

Mr Botha, who wilted under cross examination during Pistorius's dramatic bail hearing, was one of four police officers who opened fire on a mini-bus in 2009, allegedly while drunk.

The officer denies the charges and says he was never asked to give a blood sample.

The charges were initially dropped but were reinstated on February 4, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). Mr Botha is reportedly due in court to face the charges in May, according to Eyewitness News, which broke the story.

Mr Botha was forced to admit in court during the bail hearing that there were no inconsistencies in Mr Pistorius's account of how Miss Steenkamp, his 29-year-old girlfriend, had died.

In one embarrassing exchange, Mr Botha was forced to retract a claim that Mr Pistorius had a home in Italy that he might flee to, if granted bail. “We know that he has offshore accounts and a property in Italy,” said Mr Botha. Mr Pistorius's defence lawyer asked exactly how he knew of the alleged property in Italy. “Someone told me about it,” was Mr Botha’s reply.

He then dropped this claim, accepting that there was no supporting evidence.